Vapor lock eliminator



Jan. 6, 1942. v w. J. LINN VAPOR Locx ELIMINATOR v Filed NOV. 15, 1939 AT T ORNEY Patented Jan. 6, 1942 UNITED kSTATES PATENT A OFFICE l l2,268,884 e v VAPOR' LOCK` ELIMINATOR n William, .I Linn, Pittsburgh,Fa. Application November 15, 1939, .Serial No. 304,571`

f1 ciaii. (c1. 257-64) y This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in a'vapor lock eliminator which is interposed between thefuel pump and the carburator of an internal combustion engine.

One of the objects of the 'invention is' to provide a vapor lockeliminator which has no moving parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vapor lock eliminatorwith means for condensing vaporized fluid into liquid fluid.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus whichvwill prevent vapor lock in carburators by feeding only liquid fuel tothe latter, so as to effect easy starting andprevent the engine fromstalling, especially when idling for any length of time. A

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an apparatusinterposed between the .fuel pump and the carburator of an internalcombustion engine which condenses accumulated fuel vapors, usuallycaused through excessive heat in the fuel line, before it reaches thecarburator.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide the inlet ofr theapparatus with a series of jets through which the fuel, coming from thefuel pump, is sprayed into the interior of the receptacle therebycausing any vapor accumulated in the fuel line to condense.

Further objects of the invention are to provide an apparatus of thecharacter described which is simple in its construction and arrangement,has no moving parts, is eiiicient in its use, readily installed, andinexpensive to manufacture.

To the accomplishment of these and such other objects as may hereafterappear the invention consists of the novel construction, combination andarrangement of parts herein specifically described and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, wherein is shown an embodiment of the in-Figure 2 is a Vsectional view on line 2--2 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a top view of the cover of the apparatus.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary bottom view of Figure 3.

Figure is a top view of the bowl ofthe apparatus. f

Figure 6 is a side view of the strainer, partly in section, as used inthis invention.

As is well known that, under-the influence of excessive heat, as forinstance, when traveling in vhot weather, or when climbing steep andAlong mountains, or when the motor is idling for any length of time, thegasoline in the feed-pipe from the fuelr pump vaporizes andnaturally-interferes with the proper feeding and' function of thecarburator. In other words, instead'of feeding liquid gasoline to thecarburator the latter is supplied with gasoline vapor which is unt foruse in the present carburatore. This condition is known as vapor lockand causes the'engine to stall and prevent starting and the only Way toprevent this is to Waitvuntil the engine has cooled off or to pour coldWater on the carburator thereby causingthe accumulated gasoline .vaporin the carburator to condense.

With the present invention, vapor lock is almost entirely eliminated,due to the fact that any vapor formed in the fuel line from the fuelpump will be condensed into liquid fuel as it enters the bowl orreservoir through a series of jets and commingles with the liquid fuelin the bowl.

To prevent the forming of vapor pockets in the upper region of thereservoir, provision is made to condense the vapor by means of a seriesof thimble-like members formed integrally with the cover of theapparatus which act as a cooling medium for the vaporized fuel.

As shown, the apparatus consists of a bowl or reservoir I0, including abottom II and a removable cover I 2. A boss I3 positioned at theexterior of said reservoir I0 is interiorly threaded at I4 to receive afeed-pipe (not shown) from the fuel pump (not shown) of an internalcombustion engine.

The aforesaid boss is preferably located at a level higher than the topI5 of the jet-block I6, as shown.

The horizontal port I'I joins the vertical port I8 at right angles andthe lower portion of port I8 is provided with an enlarged bore I9 whichterminates at thebottom into a downwardly extending interiorly threadedboss 20 adapted to receive the strainer tube assembly 2I (Figure 6).

The latter comprises a bolt 22 having a head 23 and an exteriorlythreaded shank 24 which is provided with a 4central bore 25 adapted tosnugly receive a foraminous tube 25 which is open at both ends. y

When the strainer tube assembly is in position,

the open upper end 2'I of said foraminous tube 26 abuts the shoulder 28of bore I9, so that the fuel passing through ports I'I and I8 must enterthe interior of said tube 26, passes through the perforations 29 of thelatter and then through the horizontal bore 30 of said jet block I6 andis discharged into the reservoir I through a series of verticallydisposed jets 3| which may be gradually increased in size as shown inFigures 2 and 5.

The bottom I I of reservoir I is tapered towards the sides 32 of thejet-block I6 as shown in Figure 1 and is indicated by the numeral 33 andany sediment that may be accumulated on the bottom I I may be drainedthrough the drain holes 34 which are in communication with the bore I 9.

The cover I2 is of special design and comprises a ange 36 which conformsto the outline of the top of the bowl or reservoir I0. This flange 36 isprovided with a downwardly extending cupshaped portion 31 which has aseries of integral vertical thimbles 38 intended to serve as a coolingmeans and therefore condenser for any vapors which may accumulate at thetop of the liquid uid within the reservoir.

The fuel outlet boss 39 is shown positioned in close proximity to theupper edge 40 of reservoir I0 and is provided with a drilled hole 4I andan enlarged threaded aperture 42 in which a feed pipe (not shown) issecured which connects to the carburator (not shown). It should benoted, that the outlet apertures 4I andA 42 are shown above the baseline 43 of the portion 3'I of the cover I2.

Normally, the apparatus is completely filled with fuel by means of afuel pump (not shown) which draws the fuel from the gasoline tank of thevehicle and feeds the same into the reservoir I0 of the apparatus to bedelivered in turnv to the carburator.

It will thus be seen that a continuous supply of fuel will always bemaintained in direct operative communication with the carburator to meetvarying conditions of load.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that in order to prevent vaporlock in modern carburation the vapor in the fuel line, before it entersthe carburator, must be disposed of. Heretofore this has beenaccomplished by employing an auxiliary gravity tank which is open to theatmosphere and which releases accumulated vapors through a vent or othersimilar means. Such gravity tanks have floats, valves and many othermoving parts which often require servicing by experts.

In the herewith described apparatus no moving parts are employed andwith ordinary care the same may be used for the life of the vehicle.

I claim:

In a vapor lock eliminator of the class described adapted to beinterposed between the fuel pump and the carburator of an internalcombustion engine comprising a uid reservoir having an inlet port and anoutlet port, and a cover for said reservoir, said inlet port arranged indirect communication with a plurality of graduated discharge openings inthe bottom portion within said reservoir adapted for breaking up andcondensing vaporized fluid entering said reservoir from said fuel pump,additional means for condensing vapors accumulated in the upper regionof said reservoir; the cover of said reservoir being provided with adownwardly extending cupshaped bottom portion penetrating the interiorof said reservoir and carrying a plurality of integral thimbles, open atthe bottom, extending upwardly from said cup-shaped bottom portion andthe outlet port of said reservoir being above the level of saidcup-shaped bottom portion of said cover.

WILLIAM J. LINN.

